Leeds Rhinos legend Barrie McDermott slams current increase in bans as ‘pathetic’

Recently, the crackdown on foul play has been attracting a great deal of media attention.

From the likes of Luke Gale to James Bentley, from Gil Dudson to Josh Charnley, a number of bans have been met with disdain in the public eye.

Disciplinary Match Review Panel chief Paul Cullen had his say on the Gale incident on the Sin Bin and explained just why he was handed that length of suspension.

“It’s something we haven’t seen from Luke Gale or anybody,” Cullen said on the Sin Bin.

“If you lead with your feet, that is a highly reckless or intentional act and there’s a difference of opinion there.

“iI your studs are up and you put that foot towards the kicking leg of a player who has the right to kick then to lead with your studs is an intentional act.”

Now, though, Leeds Rhinos legend and Sky Sports pundit Barrie McDermott has slammed the increasing punishments.

McDermott took to Twitter to tweet: “I like to think I have a balanced view of RL literally experienced 1000’s & 1000’s of games at all levels in 40 yrs. Of course I played in a different era, a brutal era. I understand the game has to evolve but it’s getting ridiculous now some of the suspensions are just pathetic…”